Bears 53-Man Roster Projections 4.0: Who Will Stick Around After Two Preseason Games?

A few players on the roster bubble needed strong performances to cement their status against the Bengals. Unfortunately, some of them fell well short of that goal.

Aug 22, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Kaden Davis (27) runs with the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals in the second half at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Chicago Bears suffered a disappointing 27-9 loss against the Bengals. Despite many of their starters seeing at least some action on both sides of the ball, they struggled to keep up with Cincinnati (especially on defense) as soon as the first whistle blew.

Nevertheless, a few players still helped themselves with strong performances against the Bengals. At the same time, others might've hurt their roster chances when the Bears are tasked with cutting down to 53 players next week.

We predicted a few significant changes to the Bears roster in our previous 53-man roster prediction after the preseason opener against Cleveland. We followed a similar script after Saturday night's blowout loss against Cincinnati.

53-man roster prediction

QB (3): Caleb Williams, Tyson Bagent, Case Keenum

RB (4): D'Andre Swift, Kyle Monangai, Salvon Ahmed, Roschon Johnson

WR (5): Luther Burden III, Rome Odunze, Kalif Raymond, Zavion Thomas, Jahdae Walker

TE (3): Colston Loveland, Cole Kmet, Sam Roush

OL (9): Braxton Jones, Joe Thuney, Garrett Bradbury, Jonah Jackson, Darnell Wright, Logan Jones, Theo Benedet, Jordan McFadden, Ozzy Trapilo

DL (10): Montez Sweat, Austin Booker, Grady Jarrett, Gervon Dexter Sr., Dayo Odeyingbo, Neville Gallimore, Daniel Hardy, Jordan van den Berg, Kentavius Street, Marcus Davenport, (Shemar Turner (IR)

LB (6): Devin Bush, T.J. Edwards, D'Marco Jackson, Keyshaun Elliott, Jack Sanborn, Ruben Hyppolite II, (Noah Sewell - IR)

CB (6): Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, Tyrique Stevenson, Malik Muhammad II, Josh Blackwell, CB6

S (4): Dillon Thieneman, Cam Lewis, Xavier Woods, Elijah Hicks, (Coby Bryant - IR)

Specialist (3):K Cairo Santos, P Tory Taylor, LS Beau Gardner

Notable changes from previous installments

Aug 22, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Chicago Bears running back Roschon Johnson (23) runs with the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals in the first half at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Kiran Amegadjie gets cut: Amegadjie needed to stack solid performances to stick around. Unfortunately, he stacked disappointing ones. Unless another team loved him as a draft prospect and thinks he would benefit from a change of scenery, the Bears will probably be able to get him back on the practice squad. That is, if they're not ready to entirely give up on him.

Roschon Johnson makes the roster: ....by default? The Bears have been giving running back Roschon Johnson a ton of work in the two preseason contests. He responded with a solid performance against Cleveland and a relatively disappointing one (at least compared to what it could've been) against Cincinnati. With Kyle Monangai recovering from an ankle injury, I think they'll opt to keep four backs. That'll either be good news for RoJo or whoever they snag off waivers to fill that role.

Marcus Davenport makes the roster: Defensive end Marcus Davenport, whom the team picked up off the scrap heap last week, is a lock to make the roster. The team desperately needs to improve their pass rush, and they think the veteran can move the needle in that regard. I'm not sure if he'll be anything more than depth, but edge rusher depth is something that every team covets.

Jaylon Jones gets cut for... CB6: The Bears need to add another player to the cornerback room. Whether it be a pickup on the waiver wire or a trade for Joey Porter Jr. (a guy can dream, right?), their current depth just isn't going to cut it. Josh Blackwell's status as a core special teamer will probably make him a lock to make the roster. Jaylon Jones is probably a bit more sound in coverage, but he could fall victim to a numbers game.

Other notable cuts

Aug 22, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Chicago Bears wide receiver Kaden Davis (27) runs with the ball against the Cincinnati Bengals in the second half at Paycor Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Kaden Davis: The dragon was slain. The mighty Kaden Davis, who received incredible reviews coming out of training camp, finally looked mortal. He muffed a kickoff and failed to register a catch in the stat sheet. Despite the hype he's received, I still think they'll like their odds of getting the 27-year-old back on the practice squad. They'd also ideally prefer to keep five receivers and use the roster spot on someone with a better chance of contributing on game day.

Jamree Kromah: Defensive end Jamree Kromah quietly had another solid performance against Cincinnati. Aside from Jordan van den Berg looking like a monster among men, he's arguably been their best defensive player over their first two preseason contests. Still, he falls victim to a numbers game here. He's a lock to bring back on the practice squad if he can make it there, though. If injuries strike at DE, he'd surely get the first call over another player on the street.

James Lynch: Defensive tackle James Lynch also falls victim to a numbers game. They might not have a game-wrecker at the position (besides sixth-round selection and future Hall of Famer Jordan van den Berg, of course), but they do have a lot of depth there. They'd love to get him back on the practice squad, as well. However, with him carving out a role as a rotational contributor over the past few years, he's far from a lock to get past the waiver wire.

Terell Smith: Cornerback Terell Smith was a dark-horse candidate to start opposite Jaylon Johnson this season. However, he needed to stack strong training camp and preseason performances to do that. Unfortunately, he's once again been plagued by injuries and hasn't had an opportunity to do so. He's shown promise whenever he's been healthy over his first few seasons, and that might be enough to land with another roster. However, he's also a strong practice squad candidate if they can get him back into the fold there.

Beanie Bishop Jr.: Unlike Smith, Beanie Bishop did make a positive impression last week against Cleveland, snagging two easy interceptions. However, he failed to build on that performance against Cincinnati. It feels like the Bears will add to the cornerback room instead of sticking with their current depth. Bishop's lack of impact on special teams would probably make him a casualty in that regard.